Swans

I'm glad "Grey's Anatomy" gave such a showcase for this song and group. Otherwise, I probably would never have been aware of them, or else I would have "discovered" them months, maybe years, down the road. This is my new favorite song. I watched the show on which it was featured (The one where Meredith “died”.) when it premiered and then watched it again on its encore presentation the next night. Afterward I searched and searched to find the song to download. This song and it being featured on the show may be just what Unkle Bob needs to put them out of the “struggling band” category. It worked for the Frays, didn’t it?

I think it's a stretch to say that the song is perfect for Izzie and Denny. I can see it if I squinch my eyes and turn my head, not take too literal an interpretation. Maybe if they alternate parts of the song, Izzie taking the first and last, Denny taking the middle.

I think the song is more appropriate for the Chief and Ellis Gray, Addison and Derek, Addison and Mark, maybe even George and Izzie, at least in the episode in which it was featured, though I think it's more about romantic love.

My literal interpretation of the song is this, and let's just say -- for simplicity's sake -- it's about a boy and a girl and the boy is the one singing the song. The boy knows in his head that a relationship is over (By my side, you'll never be/And you're never comin' home again), but his heart hasn't caught up to that point ("I want you to know that I can't let you go).

He looks back, thinking of reasons why she left. He is not as practical or responsible or realistic as she would like him to be (I'm lost in my dreams). They disagree on fundamental things about each other (I see you, you see me, differently) and probably about relationships and life in general. Their disagreements are so big that she sees them as insurmountable or that he was unable to change, though he thinks differently (I wanted to tell you I've changed, that things would be different this time). Apparently, she thought so strongly about this that she won’t even listen to him, since he "wanted" to tell her and either didn’t have the chance or just didn’t do it.

The girl has made up her mind that the relationship is over, even though she does love him. It's probably because she loves him that she doesn't want to see him again, fearing that the love will overtake her; she'll give into it, to him, and stay in a relationship that is ultimately unfulfilling (You tell me that you love me, but you never wanna see me again).

It just occurred to me that the guy may have problems with faithfulness, drugs, alcohol, or violence, though I choose to see the couple’s problems as more philosophical, less dramatic but still problems. I guess all breakups are sad, but I think it may be sadder when two people spilt because they just can’t quite get it together. No strong outside forces, no good guys, no bad guys. There’s lots of good stuff there, but the bad or not-so-good stuff outweighs it.

For some reason, this song makes me think of “Linger” by the Cranberries and maybe OMD or some other 80s UK band.

I am a sucker for strings, and the way Unkle Bob uses ‘em in this song gives me goosebumps and practically gives me an orgasm. The plucking of the strings in the middle, the way they build up to the crescendo at the end. If they keep this up, I’ll never sing this song to them.